Elton John Confirms Moscow Concert to Support Russian Gays

Openly gay British pop star Elton John believes that staging a concert in Moscow in December, rather than boycotting the venue, would better serve the interests of the Russian gay community.

"There's two avenues of thought: Do you stop everyone going, ban all the artists coming in from Russia? But then you're really leaving the men and women who are gay and suffering under the anti-gay laws in an isolated situation," Elton John said in an interview with The Guardian published Monday.

"As a gay man, I can't leave those people on their own without going over there and supporting them. I don't know what's going to happen, but I've got to go," the singer said.

Elton John, 66, married his longtime partner, David Furnish, in 2005 in one of Britain's first same-sex ceremonies and continues to be outspoken advocate for LGBT social movements worldwide. The couple has two sons born by the same surrogate mother.

Russia adopted a controversial and vaguely worded law in June banning the promotion of "nontraditional sexual relationships" to minors, an offense punishable with hefty fines. While the law's proponents argue it is aimed at protecting children, critics say the legislation is part of a wider crackdown on Russia's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

U.S. pop divas Madonna and Lady Gaga, who championed gay rights during their shows in Russia last year, were subsequently threatened with legal action by conservative Russian lawmakers.

Elton John's concert is scheduled for Dec. 6 at Moscow's Crocus City Hall.

No normalization of ties between Ukraine and Russia is likely unless the region of Crimea, now under Russian control, is returned to Kiev's sovereignty, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said Tuesday.

Boris Nemtsov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and Russia's role in the Ukraine crisis, has been shot dead outside the Kremlin in a murder that underscored the risks taken by the Russian opposition.

The murder of Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov has dampened any hope for a peaceful political transition in Russia away from President Vladimir Putin's government, Garry Kasparov, a prominent opposition voice, has said.

A spokesperson for Moscow's information technology department has denied media reports that some of the surveillance cameras around the Kremlin had been switched off at the time of Boris Nemtsov's murder.

The U.S. State Department and FBI have announced a $3 million reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of Russian Yevgeny Bogachev, the highest bounty U.S. authorities have ever offered in a cyber case.